Written Answers

Monday 24 July 2000

Scottish Executive

Ambulance Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff absence level has been for the Scottish Ambulance Service for each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Susan Deacon: The information broken down by health board area is as follows:

  


Health Board Area


1997-98


1998-99


1999-2000




Argyll and Clyde


4.84%


6.30%


6.50%




Ayrshire and Arran


4.89%


6.34%


5.25%




Borders


4.21%


3.78%


3.47%




Dumfries and Galloway


4.71%


5.67%


7.19%




Fife


3.41%


3.22%


4.11%




Forth Valley


3.60%


5.55%


6.44%




Grampian


5.60%


6.42%


5.20%




Greater Glasgow


9.84%


10.80%


8.72%




Highland


3.91%


4.78%


4.23%




Lanarkshire


6.48%


7.11%


7.70%




Lothian


6.51%


8.10%


9.31%




Orkney


0.40%


0.65%


2.25%




Shetland


1.26%


3.61%


3.78%




Tayside


4.32%


5.23%


5.92%




Western Isles


1.64%


5.57%


5.48%




Scotland


5.54%


6.55%


6.46%

Ambulance Service

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any proposals to reduce staff absence levels in the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Susan Deacon: Reducing staff absence levels is a matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service. As part of the Occupational Health and Safety Strategy for the NHS in Scotland, the Scottish Executive expects NHS employers to set and meet targets to reduce sickness absence. The Executive is taking work forward to establish data gathering mechanisms that should allow areas of concern or good practice to be identified both at national and local level.

Autistic Children

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is introducing to take preventative action in respect of childhood autistic spectrum disorders.

Mr Sam Galbraith: There are no primary prevention measures at present because the origins and causes of autism are not fully understood. There is no known risk factor which could prevent an individual being affected if it was identified and remedied. In terms of secondary prevention, there are already measures in place for early diagnosis and intervention. The Scottish Executive provides £5 million to local authorities for in-service special educational needs staff development and training, including teachers of autistic children.

Cancer

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the number of linear accelerators to deliver radiotherapy for cancer treatment and, if so, what will be the number, costs and locations of the accelerators.

Susan Deacon: Cancer is one of three clinical priorities for the NHS in Scotland. We have already committed £13.2 million from the NHS Capital Modernisation Fund to provide state of the art linear accelerators and treatment planning computers for the delivery of radiotherapy in Scotland’s five cancer centres.

  In June this year, I announced the first round of equipment purchases totalling £5.8 million, which will be used to buy four linear accelerators and three simulators. The centres benefiting from the £5.8 million are Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen. Additionally, as a result of separate procurement exercises the cancer centres in Inverness and Glasgow will receive replacement equipment. Inverness have recently installed a simulator and are awaiting delivery of a linear accelerator at a total cost of £1.3 million, while the Glasgow centre will shortly receive a further three linear accelerators costing £2.2 million.

Cancer

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of established radiology posts in Scotland are currently unfilled and what measures are being taken to fill these positions.

Susan Deacon: The latest data available is from the annual notification of vacancies at 30 September 1999, which is collected by ISD Scotland. Only consultant and staff grade vacancies are recorded. At 30 September 1999, 8.2% of established consultant or staff grade posts in radiology were unfilled.

  We are committed to increasing the number of doctors working in the NHS in Scotland, particularly in the area of cancer treatment. Figures show that the whole time equivalent figure for consultants in radiology has increased by 8.5% from 1996 to 1999 and the headcount has increased by 11% over the same period.

  I have recently announced a package of additional investment in the workforce which includes provision for 100 extra junior doctors and 10 extra consultants. Half of the additional junior doctor posts will be flexible posts, to recognise the increasing role of women in the medical workforce. The distribution of posts across various specialties is currently being determined.

Crime Prevention

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many publicly funded close circuit television cameras are located in Glasgow and what percentage of these are in full working order.

Angus MacKay: Since the launch of the CCTV Challenge Competition in 1996, awards have been made to install systems involving 238 cameras in the City of Glasgow area. Some of those systems, particularly those approved in the 2000-01 round of the competition, are not yet up and running. We are not aware of any installed systems, which we have funded and are online, that are not fully operational.

Culture

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to promote the art of Asian Scots.

Rhona Brankin: The National Cultural Strategy, which we shall launch later this summer, will promote and celebrate Scotland’s cultural life in its full diversity.

Education

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-2137 by Peter Peacock on 22 November 1999, whether the information given on total expenditure and expenditure per pupil by each local authority can now be updated to include figures for 1998-99.

Peter Peacock: The information requested is shown in the table below.

  


Net current expenditure on local 
authority primary, secondary and special schools 1998-99 
(at outturn prices)




 


Total
Expenditure
(£000)


Expenditure
Per Pupil
(£)




Aberdeen City


74,154


2,725




Aberdeenshire


97,040


2,614




Angus


44,443


2,679




Argyll & Bute


37,129


2,766




Clackmannanshire


20,250


2,692




Dumfries & Galloway


61,097


2,715




Dundee City


59,365


2,804




East Ayrshire


50,644


2,604




East Dunbartonshire


46,749


2,413




East Lothian


31,951


2,463




East Renfrewshire


37,977


2,415




Edinburgh, City of


134,048


2,686




Eilean Siar


19,212


4,327




Falkirk


55,064


2,585




Fife


139,564


2,613




Glasgow City


222,272


2,801




Highland


98,005


2,887




Inverclyde


35,898


2,658




Midlothian


34,868


2,717




Moray


37,183


2,693




North Ayrshire


57,607


2,639




North Lanarkshire


140,991


2,645




Orkney Islands


11,884


3,693




Perth & Kinross


46,435


2,498




Renfrewshire


69,294


2,511




Scottish Borders


39,598


2,562




Shetland Islands


17,807


4,551




South Ayrshire


43,120


2,499




South Lanarkshire


120,561


2,523




Stirling


34,803


2,754




West Dunbartonshire


41,345


2,617




West Lothian


65,460


2,603




Scotland


2,025,818


2,672




  Notes:

  1. All figures are net current expenditure excluding costs of home to school transport, school meals, education authority central administration costs, and loan and leasing charges.

  2. Figures derived from local authority financial returns (LFR 1) for 1998-99.

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of placing requests in 1998-99 by type and outcome broken down by education authority.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The information requested is given in the attached table.

  Education Authority Primary & Secondary Schools, 1998-99 - Placing Requests by Type and Outcome

  


Education
Authority


Total Oral & 
Statutory Requests


Oral Requests


Statutory Requests


References to 
the Appeal Committee or Appeals to the Sheriff


Total Granted 
(at Initial Stage or on Appeal)


% Granted (at 
Initial Stage or on Appeal)




 


Rec’d.


Granted at Initial 
Stage


Rec’d.


Granted at Initial 
Stage


Rec’d.


Granted at Initial 
Stage


Rec’d.


Granted


 


 




Scotland


30,941


26,888


4,334


4,005


26,607


22,883


583


42


26,930


87




Aberdeen City 


682


412


0


0


682


412


36


0


412


60




Aberdeen City 


682


412


0


0


682


412


36


0


412


60




Aberdeenshire


600


596


420


420


180


176


1


1


597


100




Angus


867


808


0


0


867


808


10


0


808


93




Argyll & Bute


320


272


0


0


320


272


0


0


272


85




Clackmannanshire


226


199


0


0


226


199


1


0


199


88




Dumfries & Galloway


1,063


1,061


0


0


1,063


1,061


2


0


1,061


100




Dundee City 


1,287


1,046


0


0


1,287


1,046


39


6


1,052


82




East Ayrshire


436


392


0


0


436


392


4


0


392


90




East Dunbartonshire


1,418


1,244


0


0


1,418


1,244


19


8


1,252


88




East Lothian


370


334


0


0


370


334


11


7


341


92




East Renfrewshire


1,001


817


0


0


1,001


817


26


1


818


82




Edinburgh, City of


5,709


4,438


2,881


2,554


2,828


1,884


189


10


4,448


78




Eilean Siar


127


127


0


0


127


127


0


0


127


100




Falkirk


666


574


0


0


666


574


20


0


574


86




Fife


1,029


1,027


1,029


1,027


0


0


0


0


1,027


100




Glasgow City


3,965


3,274


0


0


3,965


3,274


119


3


3,277


83




Highland


483


448


4


4


479


444


7


0


448


93




Inverclyde


913


837


0


0


913


837


9


1


838


92




Midlothian


609


574


0


0


609


574


17


0


574


94




Moray


486


464


0


0


486


464


0


0


464


95




North Ayrshire


673


657


0


0


673


657


1


0


657


98




North Lanarkshire


1,476


1,328


0


0


1,476


1,328


15


3


1,331


90




Orkney Islands


6


4


0


0


6


4


0


0


4


67




Perth & Kinross


823


784


0


0


823


784


4


1


785


95




Renfrewshire


966


869


0


0


966


869


19


0


869


90




Scottish Borders


225


216


0


0


225


216


0


0


216


96




Shetland Islands


59


57


0


0


59


57


0


0


57


97




South Ayrshire


765


675


0


0


765


675


12


0


675


88




South Lanarkshire


1,325


1,239


0


0


1,325


1,239


9


0


1,239


94




Stirling


476


411


0


0


476


411


1


0


411


86




West Dunbartonshire


561


534


0


0


561


534


0


0


534


95




West Lothian


1,329


1,170


0


0


1,329


1,170


12


1


1,171


88

Education

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a national breakdown of placing requests for pre-school education in 1998-99 by type and outcome.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive does not collect this information centrally.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much each local authority received from the Budget 2000 additional financial resources for schools as outlined in the Education Department circular No. 1/2000.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The information requested is shown in the table below.

  Budget 2000 – Additional Financial Resources for Schools

  


Education Authority


Amount Received 
(£)




Aberdeen City


1,066,000




Aberdeenshire


1,538,000




Angus


653,000




Argyll & Bute


736,000




Clackmannanshire


295,000




Dumfries & Galloway


1,114,000




Dundee City


773,000




East Ayrshire


770,000




East Dunbartonshire


725,000




East Lothian


467,000




East Renfrewshire


510,000




Edinburgh, City of


1,901,000




Eilean Siar


553,000




Falkirk


821,000




Fife


1,953,000




Glasgow City


3,177,000




Highland


1,873,000




Inverclyde


593,000




Midlothian


531,000




Moray


562,000




North Ayrshire


844,000




North Lanarkshire


2,198,000




Orkney Islands


289,000




Perth & Kinross


821,000




Renfrewshire


1,023,000




Scottish Borders


696,000




Shetland Islands


406,000




South Ayrshire


712,000




South Lanarkshire


1,853,000




Stirling


607,000




West Dunbartonshire


601,000




West Lothian


950,000




Scotland 


31,611,000

European Convention on Human Rights

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance has been issued to the procurator service in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Colin Boyd QC: Between January and June 1999 the Crown Office ran a series of three-day training courses on ECHR which were attended by all procurators fiscal and all procurators fiscal deputes. A series of two-day courses was then run for all precognition officers. At the courses, all those attending were issued with written guidance appropriate to their work. In the case of procurators fiscal and their deputes, that guidance extends to over 500 pages and addresses all aspects of the prosecution of crime in Scotland. The same written material and a version of the course appropriate to their needs was provided to all Advocate Deputes.

  In the autumn of 1999 a series of one-day workshops was run, once again attended by all procurators fiscal and their deputes, at which the training and guidance was revisited in the light of experience of the operation of the Scotland Act. Advocate Deputes received such updated training at their annual seminar in March this year.

  All procurators fiscal and deputes have been issued with copies of all devolution issue opinions issued by the High Court and with commentary on those opinions and advice on matters arising from them as appropriate.

  All procurators fiscal deputes recruited since June 1999 have attended one of two four-day training courses and have received the written materials described above.

  A series of one-day workshops, again for all procurators fiscal and deputes, is in preparation for September this year, ahead of the entry into force of the Human Rights Act 1998 on 2 October.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the running costs for the Houses of Parliament at Westminster are included as comparable expenditure in the Barnett formula calculation.

Mr Jack McConnell: No.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which areas of Scottish spending are not matched, in the Barnett formula calculation of annual changes in allocations to the Scottish assigned budget, by comparable spending in England and Wales.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to the Statement of Funding Policy: Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.

Finance

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funds were allocated to the Scottish budget as a result of the Comprehensive Spending Review specifically to take account of any additional costs of devolution.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to Cm 4215 Serving Scotland’s Needs Governments expenditure plans 1999-2000 to 2001-2002 chapters 12 and 13.

Finance

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8299 by Mr Jack McConnell on 28 June 2000, whether it will detail the end-of-year balance generated for each sub-heading of the Vote 3 Budget and to detail how much of these surpluses will be retained in these budget sub-headings in the financial year 2001-02 and what additional funds will be allocated to these budget sub-headings through end-year flexibility.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to the figures I provided in my answer to question S1W-8299. The Appropriation Accounts published in the autumn will contain a breakdown of end-year balances. The answer to question S1W-8299 also shows the amounts retained by portfolios and the further allocation of £13 million to Education and Enterprise and Lifelong Learning portfolios.

Finance

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the end-year balance in each sub-heading of the rural affairs budget was in 1999-2000.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to the figures I provided in my answer to question S1W-8299 which sets out the end-year balances claim agreed with Treasury. The Appropriations Accounts published in the autumn will contain a breakdown of end-year balances.

Finance

David McLetchie (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will explain the process used to allocate departmental underspends to the different departments within the Scottish Executive.

Mr Jack McConnell: I refer you to the answer to question S1W-8299, which describes the considerations underlying the allocation of end-year balances.

Finance

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will give an interim estimate of any funding lost to Scotland due to the impact of currency fluctuations on the aggregate sterling value of EU funded programmes for each year since 1994 for which figures are available.

Mr Jack McConnell: The aggregate sterling value of individual programmes can only be calculated when all projects are completed, and EU funding drawn down from the European Commission. These figures will not be available for the 1994-99 programmes until 2002. We estimate, however, that the final sterling value of programmes will have decreased from the equivalent figures which were announced when the programmes were approved.

  The Scottish Executive has ensured that the full Euro value of all programmes has been committed to projects, within the terms of European Regulations. In addition, once individual grant awards have been made their sterling value is guaranteed by the Executive, which will bear any exchange rate loss which results when the final value is known.

Fire Service

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why the total number of premises inspected for fire prevention purposes by the fire service fell from 66,477 in 1994-95 to 55,709 in 1998-99.

Angus MacKay: Since the introduction of the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations, which came into force on 1 December 1997, fire brigades have been concentrating their attention on high and medium risk premises and are carrying out fewer routine inspections of low risk premises.

Fisheries

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when vessels will be ordered to replace older ones in the fleet of the Scottish Fishery Protection Service.

Mr John Home Robertson: The requirements of the Scottish Fisheries Protection Agency for replacement vessels are being kept under review. No decisions have yet been taken on the acquisition of new vessels.

Health

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to publish the final report by Professor Clark, head of the Tayside Health Task Force, on the circumstances leading to the current health situation in Tayside.

Susan Deacon: The task force has produced an Interim Report which I published on 30 June together with details of the Executive’s response. I have asked for a copy of the Interim Report to be put in the Scottish Parliament Reference Centre.

Health

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time for occupational therapy is in Angus.

Susan Deacon: Information regarding occupational therapy waiting times in individual Trust and health board areas is not collated centrally.

Health Spending

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3886 by Susan Deacon on 21 March 2000, when it plans to increase total health spending to the current European average as a percentage of national income.

Susan Deacon: The following table shows public expenditure on health as a proportion of GDP in Scotland and in countries within the European Community in 1997 - the latest year for which comparable data are available.

  


Public Expenditure on Health 
as Percentage of GDP




Country


%




Germany


8.3




Sweden


7.2




France


7.1




Belgium


6.7




Denmark


6.7




Luxembourg


6.4




Netherlands


6.2




Austria


6.0




United Kingdom


5.8




Finland


5.7




Spain


5.6




Italy


5.3




Greece


5.0




Ireland


4.9




Portugal


4.7




EU Average


6.5




Scotland


6.4




  Notes:

  1. The source of the data for European countries is the OECD healthcare database 1999. The estimate for Scotland is based on total NHS expenditure and an estimate of GDP at market prices.

  2. OECD estimates of health expenditure as a percentage of GDP use GDP at market prices. Although this figure is available for the UK, separate estimates are not made of GDP at market prices for regions within the UK. To obtain a figure for GDP at market prices in Scotland the following method has been used: it has been assumed that the Scottish share of UK GDP at market prices (Including North Sea oil output) is the same as the share of GDP at factor cost. It should be noted that estimates of UK GDP at market prices may be subject to revision and this would affect the estimate of Scottish GDP at market prices.

  3. The EU average has been estimated by weighting together the figures for individual European countries, with each country’s GDP used as the relative weight.

  4. Private expenditure on healthcare is excluded from these figures.

  Expenditure on the NHS in Scotland in 1997 was about the same percentage as the EU average although comparisons of health expenditure between countries should be treated with considerable caution. There are differences between countries in methods of organising and delivering healthcare as well as differences in funding arrangements. There may also be differences in methods of recording expenditure on healthcare and, as the OECD point out, "the very definition of healthcare…differs from country to country". All of these factors may distort comparisons between countries.

  The Scottish Executive is committed to making substantial increases in health spending for the duration of this Parliament. As tangible evidence of this, health spending in the current year has been increased by almost £500 million on last year’s planned level of funding and is due to increase by a further £2.095 billion by 2002-03. This represents a significant investment in the NHS in Scotland and the Executive is now working with the service to ensure that the resources are invested effectively in a way that will deliver sustainable improvements for patients across Scotland.

Housing

Elaine Smith (Coatbridge and Chryston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide to MSPs a copy of the survey and sources of information referred to in its document A New Single Social Housing Tenancy for Scotland: Rights and Obligations and Opportunities which support the conclusion that "Some 83% of all Scots aspire to own their own homes and even more strikingly, close to 3 out of 5 current council tenants share that aspiration".

Ms Wendy Alexander: I would refer Elaine Smith to tables 1 and 2 of the recently published information paper Evolving the Right to Buy: Evidence for Scotland . A copy has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. The figure of 83% relates to Heads of Household between the ages of 40 and 59. I regret that this was not made clear in the earlier publication.

Housing

Mr Murray Tosh (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8386 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 13 July 2000, whether it will give local authorities enhanced consent under section 94 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to fund tenants’ incentive schemes in designated areas.

Ms Wendy Alexander: As indicated in my earlier reply, the Executive is currently considering the precise funding mechanisms that will apply to any cash incentives provided to tenants of social landlords in line with the proposals set out in paragraph 42 of the Consultation Paper Better Homes for Scotland’s Communities - The Executive’s proposals for the Housing Bill .

Justice

Michael Matheson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many fiscal fines were issued in (a) 1997-98, (b) 1998-99 and (c) 1999-2000.

Colin Boyd QC: The total number of conditional offers of fixed penalty ("fiscal fines") issued by Procurators Fiscal in each of the years to which the question refers was as follows:

  a) 1997-98 – 36,201;

  b) 1998-99 – 40,250; and

  c) 1999-2000 – 35,329

Land Reform

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to restrict the further sale of any land purchased under its proposed community right to buy legislation.

Angus MacKay: We have considered this matter which will be addressed in our draft Land Reform Bill.

Local Government Finance

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what each local authority’s percentage share of Aggregate External Finance was from 1996-97 to 1999-2000 inclusive and what it will be in 2000-01.

Mr Jack McConnell: Local authorities’ percentage shares of Aggregate External Finance from 1996-97 to 2000-01 inclusive are shown in the following table:

  


Council


1996-97


1997-98


1998-99


1999-2000


2000-01




Aberdeen City 


3.7


3.7


3.5


3.5


3.6




Aberdeenshire


3.8


3.9


3.9


3.9


3.9




Angus


1.9


2.0


2.0


2.0


2.0




Argyll & Bute


2.1


2.1


2.1


2.0


2.0




Clackmannanshire


0.9


0.9


0.9


0.9


0.9




Dumfries & Galloway


2.8


2.9


2.9


2.9


2.9




Dundee City


3.2


3.2


3.2


3.2


3.2




East Ayrshire


2.3


2.3


2.3


2.3


2.3




East Dunbartonshire


1.7


1.7


1.7


1.8


1.7




East Lothian


1.5


1.5


1.5


1.5


1.5




East Renfrewshire


1.3


1.3


1.4


1.4


1.4




Edinburgh, City of


7.5


7.8


7.8


7.8


7.7




Eilean Siar


1.3


1.3


1.3


1.3


1.3




Falkirk


2.5


2.5


2.5


2.5


2.6




Fife


6.3


6.3


6.3


6.3


6.3




Glasgow City


15.6


15.0


15.0


14.9


14.8




Highland


4.5


4.6


4.5


4.6


4.5




Inverclyde


1.9


1.9


1.8


1.8


1.8




Midlothian


1.5


1.5


1.5


1.5


1.5




Moray


1.6


1.6


1.6


1.6


1.6




North Ayrshire


2.6


2.6


2.6


2.6


2.7




North Lanarkshire


6.3


6.0


6.1


6.1


6.2




Orkney


0.7


0.7


0.8


0.7


0.7




Perth & Kinross


2.2


2.2


2.3


2.3


2.3




Renfrewshire


3.3


3.2


3.2


3.2


3.3




Scottish Borders


2.1


2.1


2.1


2.1


2.1




Shetland


0.9


1.1


1.1


1.0


1.0




South Ayrshire


2.0


2.0


2.0


2.1


2.0




South Lanarkshire


5.7


5.5


5.5


5.5


5.6




Stirling


1.6


1.6


1.6


1.6


1.6




West Dunbartonshire


2.2


2.0


2.0


2.0


2.0




West Lothian


2.8


2.8


2.8


2.9


2.8

Mental Health

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients in NHS mental health care are kept in locked wards inappropriately because no other beds are available.

Susan Deacon: This information is not available.

  In keeping with the Framework for Mental Health Services for Scotland it is for health boards, NHS Trusts and local authorities, in planning and delivering services, to ensure that the care and security afforded to patients is appropriate to meet assessed need and to reduce any delay which occurs in matching care to assessed need in all cases.

National Lottery Awards

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to and what plans it has for the creation of "Millennium Greens", using National Lottery money to help people design, create and own their own local green area.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive currently has no such plans.

National Lottery Awards

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it can take to ensure that the National Lottery distributing bodies in relation to which it has responsibility co-operate when an application for lottery funding is made by an organisation whose activities fall within the remit of more than one of these bodies.

Rhona Brankin: The lottery distributors are already working together to co-ordinate their strategies and to provide better advice and support to applicants. The Executive welcomes these developments and maintains regular contact with the distributors.

Nutrition

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the installation of confectionery and soft drinks vending machines in some schools is in line with its healthy diet and dental care policies.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Diet Action Plan Eating for Health , which provides the framework for the Scottish Executive’s drive towards healthier eating, says that schools should take steps to ensure that tuck shops and vending machines provide a range of healthy food and drink choices.

  The aim is for all schools, both primary and secondary, to provide high quality food and drinks which are attractive to children and which result in consistent nutritious balanced meals and snacks, and healthy teeth. Many schools have implemented initiatives, such as breakfast clubs, healthy eating vending machines, smart card systems for school meals, and School Nutrition Action Groups to encourage pupils to eat more healthily.

Parliamentary Questions

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why it took almost six months to answer question S1W-3785.

Iain Gray: This question had been referred to officials, became lost in the system, and came to light when a comprehensive trawl was made of all unanswered questions. I first received a suggested reply from officials on 26 June and the question was answered by me on 7 July.

Police

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the number of VIP and Royal visits to the City of Edinburgh since 1 July 1999 and the increased overtime costs incurred by Lothian and Borders Police on a daily basis in respect of each visit.

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail the number of ceremonial events staged in the City of Edinburgh since 1 July 1999 and the increased overtime costs incurred by Lothian and Borders Police on a daily basis in respect of each such event.

Mr Jim Wallace: Royal and VIP visits are often linked to ceremonial events. There have been 59 visits falling into these categories since 1 July 1999.

  Lothian and Borders Police are unable to provide figures for any increased overtime costs that might have been incurred. Costs are met from the force’s overall GAE provision.

Rail Network

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will submit the proposal for the reintroduction of a railway to the Scottish Borders to the European Commission for inclusion as a project on the trans-European (TEN) maps due to be revised by the Commission in June 2000.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish   Executive is in regular contact with the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority over the development of railways in Scotland. I understand that the emerging conclusion of the review is that no alterations should be made to the guideline maps at this stage other than those necessary to ensure consistency with the transport network maps that have been developed for the countries seeking accession to the EU. The SSRA is currently drawing up its 10-year strategy plan for the GB railway network. Future proposals for TEN status of railway lines in Great Britain will be a matter for the SSRA and ultimately DETR, who would be responsible for putting them to the Commission.

Renewable Energy

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to support and promote wave energy, including any proposals to provide funding, and what funds have already been provided for wave energy on an annual basis since 1997.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Renewables Obligation (SRO) has been the mechanism for supporting the development of renewable energy projects in Scotland. Under its third round or SRO3, three contracts were awarded for wave energy projects in March 1999, the first such awards in the UK.

  The funding of research and development of renewable energy technologies is a reserved matter. In March 1999, the Department of Trade and Industry launched a new wave energy programme, under which the development of the SRO3 wave energy projects will be monitored. In addition, the programme is supporting six proposals for research, development and demonstration of wave power.

Residential Care

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase social work funding to enable children in residential care to have more outings during the summer holidays.

Mr Sam Galbraith: It is for local authorities to determine how best to allocate resources locally. Since 1997, Grant Aided Expenditure for children’s services has increased from £194.7 million to £215.6 million in the current year.

Schools

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will ensure that the Sacred Heart Primary School in Cumbernauld is not closed by North Lanarkshire Council until the judicial review requested by local parents has been completed.

Peter Peacock: The Scottish Executive has no role in relation to North Lanarkshire Council’s decision to close this school.

Scottish Arts Council

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Scottish Arts Council undertakes any monitoring of the use of its financial support to Variant magazine and, if so, what form that monitoring takes.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Arts Council’s financial support to Variant is subject to their standard procedures and conditions of grant, which they apply to all allocations of SAC funds. The SAC carries out systematic monitoring at set stages throughout the annual funding cycle, which includes obtaining certified financial statements demonstrating that the recipients have fulfilled the purpose applied for and the grant conditions.

Scottish Arts Council

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how much was paid by the Scottish Arts Council (a) directly to consultants and (b) in grants to clients to enable them to pay consultants in each year from 1995-96 to 1999-2000.

Rhona Brankin: The Scottish Arts Council made payments a) directly to consultants and b) in grants to clients to enable them to pay consultants in each of the years specified as shown in the following table.

  


£000







General Funds


Lottery Funds


Total



 

(a)


(b)


(a)


(b)


(a)


(b)




1995-96


-


46.6


-


-


-


46.6




1996-97


-


34.5


-


3.0


-


37.5




1997-98


16.5


34.2


13.6


26.3


30.1


60.5




1998-99


8.5


-


4.0


78.6


12.5


78.6




1999-2000


50.5


27.5


-


137.4


50.5


164.9







75.5


108.6


17.6


245.3


93.1


388.1

Scottish Arts Council

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive to detail on a project-by-project basis grants made by the Arts Council for capital projects in each of the last three years.

Rhona Brankin: The details of each project funded by the Scottish Arts Council are published in its annual reports, which are now laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Arts Council

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what is the upper limit for grant applications to the Arts Council for capital projects and (b) what are the eligibility criteria for grant funding by the Arts Council for capital projects.

Rhona Brankin: There is currently no upper limit for grant applications to the Scottish Arts Council for capital projects. The criteria are detailed in the Council Guidelines published for each of its capital schemes.

Scottish Executive Accommodation

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which of its departments have leased offices; where they are located, and when these leases are due for renewal.

Mr Jack McConnell: With the exception of the Department of Health, all of the Scottish Executive departments (including Corporate Services and the Finance Group) have staff in leased offices.

  Leased offices are present in the locations set out in the table below along with their lease renewal date.

  


Building


Lease Expires




7/21 Mill Street
Perth (2 leases)


2000* and 2008




Charlotte House
Commercial Road
Lerwick
Shetland


2001




Mulberry House
16-22 Picardy Place
Edinburgh


2001




Northern College of Education
Gardyne Road
Broughty Ferry


2002




17 Waterloo Place
Edinburgh


2003




2 Greenside Lane, Edinburgh


2004




Corunna House
29 Cadogan Street
Glasgow


2004




Ord Croft
Lairg


2005




Scotland House
Rond-Point Schuman 6
1040
Brussels


2008




Wellgate House
Marketgait
Dundee


2009




Heriot Watt Research Park
Edinburgh


2011




Meridian Court
5 Cadogan Street
Glasgow


2012




Russell House
King Street
Ayr


2012




Southlands
32 Reidhaven Street
Elgin


2012




Glasgow Fruit Market
Blochairn Road
Glasgow


2015




Europa Building
Argyle Street
Glasgow


2016




37 Rankin Avenue
Technology Park
East Kilbride


2017




Pentland House
47 Robbs Loan
Edinburgh


2017




George House
126 George Street
Edinburgh


2022




  *This building is held on a year-to-year lease.

Scottish Executive Accommodation

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many staff are employed by its departments in offices which are leased.

Mr Jack McConnell: 1,106 staff of the Scottish Executive are employed in leased buildings.

Scottish Executive Accommodation

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any offices which it owns or leases are empty or not fully occupied.

Mr Jack McConnell: St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh is not fully occupied during the refurbishment of the building.

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7210 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 June 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown of the estimates on (a) the Annual Expenditure Report and (b) support cost payments to Social Inclusion Partnerships, regeneration partnerships and the Glasgow Alliance from the estimates on Partnerships in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02, as contained in table 2.7 of the Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2000 .

Jackie Baillie: Grant payments to meet support costs incurred by Social Inclusion Partnerships (SIPs) are paid to those Social Inclusion Partnerships which were established as Priority Partnership Areas in 1996, to the remaining New Life Partnerships and to the Glasgow Alliance and the Capital City Partnership. Firm allocations for 2000-01 and provisional allocations for 2001-02 are shown in the table below. Provisional allocations may be subject to change.

  Table 1: Support cost allocations to Social Inclusion Partnerships, the Glasgow Alliance, Capital City Partnership and New Life Partnerships

  


£


2000-01


2001-02




Wester Hailes Partnership


100,000


100,000




Castlemilk Partnership


100,000


100,000




Ferguslie Park Partnership


100,000


100,000




Motherwell North SIP


90,000


90,000




North Ayr SIP


60,000


60,000




Aberdeen Great Northern SIP


60,000


60,000




Dundee 1 SIP


90,000


90,000




Craigmillar SIP


60,000


60,000




North Edinburgh SIP


60,000


60,000




West Dunbartonshire SIP


120,000


120,000




Inverclyde SIP


120,000


120,000




Paisley SIP


120,000


120,000




Glasgow Alliance


683,000


683,000




Capital City Partnership


120,000


120,000

Scottish Executive Expenditure

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7207 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 June 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown of the estimates on the Annual Expenditure Report from the estimates on the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02, as contained in table 2.7 of the Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2000 .

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-7207 by Ms Wendy Alexander on 22 June 2000, whether it will provide a breakdown of the estimates for grant payments in respect of Social Inclusion Partnerships current expenditure in (i) 2000-01 and (ii) 2001-02, from the estimates on the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund as contained in table 2.7 of the Annual Expenditure Report of the Scottish Executive 2000 .

Jackie Baillie: From 2000-01, up to 40% of expenditure incurred by Social Inclusion Partnerships will be reimbursed by the Scottish Executive in the form of a grant from the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund in the same year in which the expenditure is incurred. The remaining expenditure is reimbursed in the following financial year. Social Inclusion Partnership revenue allocations for 2000-01 and 2001-02 are shown in the table below.

  Table 1: Social Inclusion Partnership revenue allocations (£000)

  


Social Inclusion Partnership


2000-011


2001-02




Aberdeen Great Northern SIP


829


850




Alloa South and East SIP


692


813




Argyll & Bute SIP


232


237




Blantyre/North Hamilton SIP


769


1,576




Cambuslang SIP


410


281




Castlemilk Partnership2


2,260


1,620




Craigmillar SIP


1,654


1,324




Drumchapel SIP


1,922


1,970




Dundee 1 SIP 


2,004


1,865




Dundee 2 SIP 


438


274




Dundee Xplore (Give Youth a Chance) 
SIP


395


419




East Ayrshire Coalfields Area 
SIP


913


1,026




Edinburgh Strategic Programme


510


263




Edinburgh Youth SIP


554


564




Falkirk Community Regeneration 
Programme


564


384




Ferguslie Park Partnership


873


791




Fife SIP


615


420




Frae Fife Ethnic Minority Capacity 
Building SIP


128


131




Girvan SIP


303


291




Glasgow Anti-Racist Alliance 
SIP


743


757




Glasgow Careleavers SIP


513


467




Glasgow East End SIP


2,171


2,225




Glasgow North SIP


2,969


3,044




Glasgow Regeneration Programme3


1,128


1,156




Glasgow Routes Out of Prostitution 
SIP


256


263




Gorbals SIP


577


592




Greater Easterhouse SIP


3,126


2,876




Greater Govan SIP


384


394




Greater Pollok SIP


1,768


1,812




Healthy Dundee Alliance SIP


77


79




Highlands Well-being Alliance 
SIP


592


745




Inverclyde SIP


1,941


1,933




Levern Valley SIP


331


210




Milton SIP


564


579




Moray Youthstart Partnership


436


447




Motherwell North SIP


1,512


1,345




North Ayr SIP


1,268


1,182




North Ayrshire SIP


615


420




North Edinburgh SIP


2,115


1,812




North Lanarkshire SIP


871


593




Paisley SIP


2,638


2,304




Perth and Kinross SIP


173


176




Scottish Borders SIP


220


227




Springburn SIP


414


429




South Coatbridge SIP


666


683




South Edinburgh SIP


653


779




Stirling SIP


461


315




Tranent Youth & Community 
Partnership


128


131




West Dunbartonshire SIP


1,552


1,576




Wester Hailes Partnership2


1,843


1,249




West Lothian SIP


256


184




TOTAL


49,026


46,083




  Notes:

  1. Figures given for 2000-01 are based on firm funding allocations, although the split between capital and current expenditure within the total allocation is subject to change. Figures given for 2001-02 are based on provisional allocations and may be subject to change.

  2. The Castlemilk Partnership and the Wester Hailes Partnership are not SIPs, but are New Life for Urban Scotland Partnerships in receipt of funding from the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund.

  3. The Glasgow Regeneration Programme is not a SIP, but is a partnership set up under Programme for Partnership which is in receipt of funding from the Social Inclusion Partnership Fund.

Section 2A

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the proposed new guidelines in relation to section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 will apply to Scotland’s remaining self-governing school, St Mary’s Episcopal Primary School in Dunblane.

Peter Peacock: The working group set up to review the curriculum guidelines in the light of the repeal of section 2A of the Local Government Act 1986 recommended that the Executive ensure that existing and new materials should impact on the practices of all schools, not just those managed by local authorities.

Smoking

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what is the estimated number of young people who smoke in (a) Scotland, (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow Kelvin.

Susan Deacon: Current estimates would suggest that about 12% of under 16’s in Scotland are regular smokers with a further 9% occasional smokers (source: Office for National Statistics, "Smoking, drinking and drug use among young teenagers in 1998", Volume 2: Scotland).

  No information is available on Glasgow Kelvin.

Smoking

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people have contracted lung cancer through smoking in the last year for which figures are available in (a) Scotland, (b) Glasgow and (c) Glasgow Kelvin.

Susan Deacon: The exact number of people contracting cancer as a direct result of smoking is unknown. The numbers of lung cancer cases diagnosed during 1996 and 1997 in the areas of interest are as follows:

  


 


Year of diagnosis




 


1996


1997*




Scotland


4,855


4,519




Greater Glasgow Health Board


1,144


1,006




Glasgow Kelvin parliamentary 
constituency


75


71




  * Data for 1997 is provisional.

  It is expected that 80-90% of these cancers will have been caused by smoking.

Social Work

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-8011 by Mr Sam Galbraith on 29 June 2000, whether the review of social work services in all local authorities being undertaken by the Social Work Services Inspectorate has revealed any discontent among social workers in Glasgow which requires further action to be taken and when this review will be made public.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The annual review of social work services in Scottish local authorities will be published in the autumn. The review of Glasgow has not yet been completed.

Statistics

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-3743 by Mr Jack McConnell on 24 January 2000, whether it will detail and publish the statistical information referred to as "few exceptions" which would have been included in a 1999 edition of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics.

Mr Jack McConnell: The content of The Scottish Abstract of Statistics varied from year to year and no proposals for what would be included in a 1999 edition were developed. The editorial policy for the Abstract is to publish only information which is already in the public domain. The exceptions to which I referred in my previous answer concerned material in the 1998 edition from sources outwith the Executive. We could not readily establish whether the providers of that information had previously formally published it. This would include, for example, some tables in the leisure and tourism section provided by sporting bodies.

Stirling Castle

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it, or any of its agencies, owns the esplanade at Stirling Castle.

Rhona Brankin: Stirling Castle and its esplanade were conveyed to the Secretary of State for Scotland by the Crown Estates Commissioners in 1999. Ownership has now transferred to Scottish Ministers.

Teacher Training

Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the minimum entry qualifications for admission to teacher education courses have been lowered for any subjects.

Peter Peacock: The minimum entry requirements for admission to teacher education courses have not been lowered for any subject.

Transport

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what is the number and names of local authorities who have sought to participate in the pilot Home Zone projects announced in November 1999, (b) when a decision on which projects have been selected will be made, (c) what criteria will be used in selecting which projects, and how many, will proceed and (d) what additional funding will be provided.

Sarah Boyack: Four local authorities have sought to participate in the Home Zones pilot study. These are Aberdeen City Council, Dundee City Council, The Highland Council and The City of Edinburgh Council .  The original intention had been to identify three sites for the purpose of the pilot. Sites were to be selected on the basis of how well they would implement the broad aims of a Home Zone. The criteria used in this assessment included the degree of local support, the proposed speed reducing measures, the likely visual appearance and the level of traffic flow. In the event, it was impossible to differentiate between the relative merits of each proposal and, therefore, the study will encompass all four sites. The Scottish Executive is funding the research programme. The cost of implementing and constructing the Home Zones is being met by the four local authorities from within existing resources available to them.